Karri Ramo allowed 6 goals on 43 shots before giving way to Jonathan Boutin who stopped 2 of 2 shots the rest of the way. Norm Milley and Daniel Corso each had 1 goal and 1 assist for the Falcons while Eric Healey added an individual helper, but with Nick Kuiper and Joe Rullier not in the lineup the Falcons were little match for the Sharks' onslaught tonight getting outshot a staggering 45-27. Milley managed to be named third star of the game, which is little consolation.

The Springfield Falcons are reporting that the club has acquired defenseman Nick Kuiper from the Portland Pirates (AHL) in exchange for future considerations. The undrafted three year pro has split time between Manitoba (AHL) and Portland and the Augusta Lynx (ECHL) this season after spending two seasons with Norfolk (AHL) and a four year NCAA career with UMass-Amherst.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Kuiper is a solid stay-at-home defenseman and will be reunited in Springfield with fellow Manitoba/Portland blueliner Joe Rullier, who was acquired by Tampa from Anaheim at the NHL trade deadline for Doug O'Brien. In his eighth AHL campaign, the veteran Rullier is a tough physical defenseman and should step into the Springfield top defensive pairing, while Kuiper may see his time split between Springfield and Johnstown.

NHL.com is reporting the Lightning have sent defenseman prospect Doug Oâ€™Brien to the Anaheim Ducks for AHL veteran defenseman Joe Rullier. The 6-3, 230 pound Rullier was part of the Brad Richards Rimouski Oceanic team that won the Memorial Cup in 2000. Rullier was drafted in the 5th round by Los Angeles in 1998 and was signed by the Kings following the Memorial Cup, but did not last with the club as he was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Rangers in the summer of 2005, then by the Canucks in the summer of 2006. In January 2007 he was sent by Vancouver to Anaheim for a prospect.

Rullier totaled a career-high 31 points (8 goals) in 67 games last year for Hartford and Manchester. This year Manitoba and Portland he has 2 goals and 10 points in 31 games. Rullier had a career high of 322 penalty minutes and a plus-23 rating two seasons ago for Manchester.

Doug Oâ€™Brien, a native of Newfoundland, played in 5 games for Tampa Bay last season, going scoreless. After finishing last year with 32 points in 74 games for Springfield, he was expected to be an impact 2-way defenseman for the Falcons, but has a relatively quiet 19 points (6 goals) in 53 games. Oâ€™Brien will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Rullier likely comes into the Tampa Bay system as the ninth defenseman and first re-call on the backline from Springfield.

Karri Ramo allowed 4 goals on 19 shots before giving way to Jonathan Boutin who fared even worse allowing 2 goals on 5 shots. Justin Keller and Norm Milley had Springfield's goals with assists belonging to Marek Kvapil, Jay Rosehill and Daniel Corso. Unfortunately, after hanging around for the first 40 minutes of the game, Springfield self destructed and allowed 4 goals in the final frame. The Falcons also had an opportunity to take a 2-0 lead early in the game on a David Spina penalty shot, but Spina failed to score and a Bruins goal in the final minutes of the first evened the game up.

Positives: with Kyle Wanvig up in Tampa on recall, Kvapil was moved back up to the second line with Keller and Spina and the three responded. Kvapil had the assist and 2 shots on goal, Spina had 4 shots and Keller had a team high 5 shots on goal. Hopefully the youngsters can keep it up. Remember, a couple of years ago Paul Ranger and Evgeny Artyukhin really came on at the end of the year (especially Ranger in the last dozen games) and it catapulted them into the NHL early the next year. Even though Springfield's playoff chances are slim and none, these young players still have a lot of developmental time left to capitalize on and once the college and junior team seasons start to end there will be an opportunity for the Lightning to identify some players to sign to ATO contracts with a view toward shaping next year's roster. There's still a lot to play for here.

According to TSN.ca, Andre Roy was suspended for three games due to his run in with the official last night in the closing seconds of the Lightning's 6-2 loss to Boston. Kyle Wanvig was called up from Springfield to replace Roy on the Lightning roster.

Karri Ramo stopped 31 of 33 shots faced in the loss. David Spina had the only Falcons goal (shorthanded) off assists from Dan Cavanaugh and Matt Smaby. At this point of the season, many of these non-contract players are playing for jobs and Spina, in his last 24 games, has 6 goals and 18 points. In my opinion, he's a guy that the organization needs to keep around on an AHL contract next season. Smaby, quietly, has posted 4 assists over the last 5 games. Ramo was named second star of the game.

Springfield outshot the Admirals 35 to 33 in the game. That's no small feat considering that the Admirals hold the best record in the Eastern Conference. It seems clear that the Falcons have picked up their play of late. What they really need now is one of the youngsters like Justin Keller or Marek Kvapil to start putting the puck in the net. Each were held to just 1 shot on goal tonight.

Springfield, MA â€“ The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today that left wing Adam Henrich has been recalled from their ECHL affiliate, the Johnstown Chiefs. The Falcons also announced that forward Radek Smolenak and goaltender Gerald Coleman have been reassigned to the Chiefs.

Henrich is back with the Falcons and has played in 11 games with Springfield this season collecting two goals and two assists for four points. In 32 games with the Chiefs this season, Henrich is averaging a point a game collecting 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points, including 12 points in his last six games with Johnstown.

Karri Ramo stopped 19 of 22 shots faced in the loss. David Spina and Daniel Corso had the Falcons' goals. Individual assists belonged to Sylvain Dufresne, Doug O'Brien and Norm Milley. Corso was named the game's second star.

Karri Ramo has not posted a win in his last nine starts. The Falcons have scored a league low 135 goals this season in 58 games (2.33 goals per game).